Vice President Pence makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

Vice President Mike Pence speaks to troops in a hangar at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2017. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

KABUL, Afghanistan — Vice President Mike Pence has made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet with Afghan leaders and visit U.S. troops.

Pence arrived in Afghanistan four months after President Donald Trump outlined a new strategy to break the stalemate in America’s longest war. Pence’s surprise visit is the first to the war-torn country by either Trump or the vice president. Pence landed at Bagram Air Base under heavy security on Thursday.

He met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, as well as U.S. troops and U.S. military leaders.

Vice President Mike Pence steps off a plane upon arrival for a surprise visit at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2017. (Madel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump released his new strategy for ending the 16-year war in Afghanistan in August. The president said U.S. troops would “fight to win” by attacking enemies and crushing terrorists.